


lost and found a 1,000 times before we meet again

by myfandomheart



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:42:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22116574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myfandomheart/pseuds/myfandomheart
Summary: It's been Max's dream since she was little to go serve in the air force, but this means leaving her whole life behind for long periods of time. She's leaving behind her friends, family, and most importantly Lucas. And he's got one thing on his mind, she better come back.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	1. goodbye for now

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I wrote this story in December of 2018... and then lost it in my old computer. After recently recovering it, I re-read it and decided I needed to share it with the world. I hope you enjoy!

Max was barely able to be in attendance for Mike and El's wedding. It was a small ceremony. The party, Steve, Jonathan and Nancy, Ted and Karen, Joyce and Jim, Mrs. Henderson, The Sinclairs, and Holly. The kids were fresh out of high school and couldn't wait any longer to tie the knot. Somehow, El had agreed to get both Max and Nancy into dresses. Max being the tomboy she was, never wore such a garment, and Nancy was very pregnant to say the least. Holly was flower girl and they had somehow tricked Steve into getting a license to perform the ceremony. They did it in the Byer's backyard, setting up a bunch of the Christmas lights from back in '83. 

But she was leaving soon.

For the Air Force that was. 

Ever since she was 8 years old, she wanted to join. Her grandfather passed away that year and he was in it, so she would do it too. That was her grandfather on her dad's side of the family. The last time she saw her dad he was in rehab. It wasn't helping and she finally noticed her mom might have been right to leave. Just she left with the wrong people that was. Neil didn't do much anymore and Billy left for "college". Max didn't really care where he was, as long as he wasn't bothering her. 

The air force was somewhere she felt like she was going to make a difference. Yes, there weren't many women, but it wasn't going to stop her. Her life in Hawkins was pretty great with the party and all their families. She knew she was leaving something really great to come back too. Steve drove them around until they could drive themselves and even then would hang out with them. Dustin had his internship at the police station. Will worked with his mom at the general store. Mike took Keith's spot at the arcade. El, of course, wasn't allowed to get a job yet. Hop didn't want her that far out in the world. And Lucas. 

Lucas had a year round lawn mowing/leave raking/snow shoveling business. He was saving up money to go to medical school. Little did he know, he wouldn't need it. He got a full ride to Indiana U. That was where the rest of the group was going and everyone was super excited. They had been dating since the snowball in 8th grade. Max knew she didn't deserve someone as great as Lucas, but was glad he was the first person she truly got to know upon coming here. He was the first person to know she was leaving and the hardest to tell. 

~

Those 2 days passed and Max had to say her final goodbyes. She told the boys to do well in college and make her proud. El had been like her sister and that was when she really started tearing up. But saying goodbye to Lucas, killed her. Max hated crying with every fiber of her being but that didn’t stop her today. She was full on sobbing.

"Hey hey. Listen to me, Maxie it's okay. You're gonna do great things. I know it. I've known this since the first time I saw you and I'll know it forever. Just swear you'll come back. Okay?"

"I swear. I wouldn't be doing this to you if I knew I wouldn't come back. I love you too much for that Lu."

He pushed her hair back behind her ear. 

"I love you too." He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and stepped back for her to grab her bag.  
Everything was going to be okay. Max wiped her face, and gave them a wave before walking  
away. She got onto the plane and headed for Dallas, they would take off from there. 

The party stood there, feeling a gap of their group gone. They faced the window, watching the plane take off, and everyone knew it was going to hurt Lucas the most. El grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently, letting him know it would be okay. Will slugged his arm around his shoulder, being the tallest (surprisingly) this was the best task for him. 

"It's fine guys. She'll be back. And then everything will be good." Lucas said whilst wiping the few stray tears from his face.

"You're right." Dustin said providing a weak smile. On the off chance she didn't come back, they would be faced with Mike and Eleven separation part 2.

"And you know what. I'm going to propose when she comes back." El's eyes lit up.

"She's gonna love that."

"How do you know?" Will said as Lucas gave a skeptical look to El.

"She told me herself. At the wedding. She's been dreaming about that for a while now." she said giving doe eyes to Mike. They would be heading off on their honeymoon later that afternoon.  
Luckily it was only 1 airport stop for that day.

"Well good, I'm going to pick out the ring this week. Nothing crazy, I just know exactly what to get."

And with that the 3 boys walked out of the airport.  
~

It turned out Lucas couldn't wait any longer. He picked it up that afternoon. 

3 months

When packing for college it was the first thing he remembered. Placing it in a box with only his most valued things. 

His dorm was small, but perfect for himself. Dustin and Will had one too and Mike and El shared an apartment together. Lucas had decided to stay on his own, not wanting to deal with Dustin and Will's midnight antics. Max would move in with him once she came back and they would probably end up getting something a little bigger. 

5 months

College was going really well for all of them. Will was selected to help redesign the front of the core buildings and El had a featured article in the newspaper. Lucas enjoyed his classes and none them really partied. Not that it was very shocking to anyone, being that they played D&D in Mike’s basement until they graduated. They would hang out at the Wheeler couple's apartment. Many pizzas were shared and episodes of Loveboat watched.

8 months

Max felt different now. She was one of the best flyer trainees even amongst the men. Her hair was cut to her shoulders, but pulled back in a slick bun daily. Her tasks seemed small int he grand scheme of things, but she couldn't help looking forward to seeing Lucas. 

She recalled telling her mom about leaving. Her mother went ballistic, telling her she didn't want to end up like her father. Max rebutted saying she didn't want to end like her mom, married to an abusive man with a terrible son. That was the last time they spoke prior and sadly, it made things a little easier. 

11 months 

Will and Lucas sat watching a tv rerun of the 1st Star Wars movie on a Saturday night. Dustin was out on a date with a girl named Carla. She was blonde, funny, and in his math class. A dream girl if Dustin ever saw it. Suddenly an emergency news announcement flashed across the screen, pausing the movie. 

U.S. Air Force Plane shot down. Middle eastern area was sight of last tracking before plane went missing. All trackers are out and looking. more to come.

Will could see the visible shock plastered on Lucas' face. And he shut off the tv.

"Hey, there is little to no chance she was anywhere near that plane. Max is smart."

"yeah, i wasn't too worried she was on the plane." 

There was like a 99% chance she was completely fine. 

12 months

Lucas and Will had turned off the tv too soon that night. The names of the people on that flight flashed across the screen shortly after and coming at number 15 was Max Mayfield.

Lucas stood in the airport that day she was supposed to come back, a rose in his hand and the ring box in his pocket. He made a reservation for dinner that night. The soldiers started walking out of the terminal. 

One by one, more and more just seemed to keep coming. Running to their families, their spouses, their children. 3 planes had come in and he assumed she was towards the back.  
The moment he saw the shimmer of red hair his world changed. She had been okay! Everything was going to be perfect! But it was someone else. A man around his 40's walked over to what looked like his 2 kids. 

All the men and women had come back to their families. And their Lucas stood with his slowly dying rose and fading smile.

That was when he realized she was in the 1%.


	2. twisted misery

Lucas walked up to the man who was directing the flights.

"Was the last flight a little late or something like that?" He said trying to hide his franticness.

"Sir, that was the last flight."

"But she's not here. My girlfriend was supposed to come back today." Lucas walked around the counter, "There's gotta be a mistake." He started rummaging through papers on the desk. 

The man stuck his arm out in front of Lucas. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Or we're going to call security."

"Is there a plane coming in tomorrow? I swear today was the 22nd."

"Today is indeed the 22nd. I'm sorry about your situation. But you need to leave." 

"No. I'm not leaving till you tell me where she is. She's gotta be here somewhere." Lucas wanted to turn around and see Max standing there with open arms. Like this was all a big misunderstanding or a practical joke.

"I'm sorry sir, I really have to call security." And just like that Lucas sprinted out of the airport. 

July 22nd, 1989 was the day Max didn't come back. 

~ 

The party had organized a little celebration at the Sinclair's house. Everyone was back in Hawkins for the summer and anxiously waited for their zoomer to return.  
Lucas slid his sunglasses down and bawled the entire drive home. 

He wanted to be angry at her for not coming back but he couldn't. 

He missed her too damn much for that.

He loved her too damn much for that.

So for right now, he was just sad. And having to drive up to what he used to call home and not have the one person he could call home. As well as having to explain what he thought happened. 

Why couldn't one of them have caught her name flying across that tv screen that night? He would have been able to recover sooner and they wouldn't have this stupid party set up. Why did he let her leave in the first place? He didn't want to crush her dreams, but he also didn't want to never see her again. This was much worse. 

He pulled his car over on the curb of the street by their house. Everyone was hidden inside with party poppers and balloons and a big sign. 

As soon as Lucas walked in they all screamed "welcome home Max!" and he wanted to scream at them. He kept his sunglasses on to hide his puffy red eyes

"Where'd you put her Luc?" Dustin said with a chuckle that he soon suppressed.

Lucas stood there for a good 30 seconds before mumbling to himself "I don't know." and walking to his room. 

Will was the first to figure it out. He was with Lucas when they saw the alert on the tv screen. 

He explained to everyone what he assumed was the truth and El burst into tears. 

Mike told her he needed to talk to Lucas so Dustin went over and gave her a hug, as he too was also shedding a few tears. 

Steve ripped down the welcome home poster and went outside, obviously angry. 

Erica went with Holly back to her room, upset as well. Erica had bonded with Max when her brother was in high school. The two liked to make fun of Lucas and give him silly little pet names. Erica would try and crash their dates by jumping up from behind the couch right as they were about to kiss or something silly such as that. 

~

Mike lightly knocked on Lucas' door. He didn't receive any response. 

"Hey. I, uh, I'm really sorry. This is fucking horrible, terrible, god awful." Mike walked over and sat next to Lucas who was fiddling with a small box. "Is that the?"

"Yeah." He said choking on his words. The sunglasses were off and you could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I get what you're feeling right now," Mike said looking down. "It's like when El was gone." 

"You got lucky Mike." Lucas set the box down and put his head in his hands.

"I don't think she's really gone. Just mis.."

"Bullshit Mike." Lucas knew he was saying this to make him feel better, "This isn't related to the fucking upside down, we're not 12 anymore."

Lucas stood up and started pacing.

"She's gone, Mike! She's fucking d-dead." He yelled bursting into tears falling on his knees.

Mike didn't know what to say. He walked over and pulled Lucas into a huge hug. 

It was something nobody thought they would ever see, two 19-year-old men hugging it out as one cried. 

~

A couple months had passed and they had returned to college. Nobody had agreed to have a funeral ceremony since the crew was never actually announced dead. They still haven't found the plane. 

Lucas wasn't the same after she didn't come back. He went to college and continued to do well, but he barely spoke or wanted to do anything more than school and work. Everything hurt too much, reminded him too much of her. 

He only set up the bare minimum of things in his dorm. It was too much for his head to see all of the bright colors and pictures. 

The ring was hidden in the box with the rest of his valuables, but he never wanted to touch it again.

El was hurt too. The closest thing to a sister gone in an instant. She had lived a life full of loss and this was the cherry on the ice cream sundae of despair. 

She knew she was lucky to have Mike, they had been through so much together and now that same kind of weight was on Lucas' shoulders. 

El wanted to think she was out there, but it was too hard knowing she could be in real danger.

Steve was like an older brother to Max. He would take her and the rest of the party around town for ice cream or trips to the arcade. Billy wasn't a bother if Max had Steve around. Steve's family life wasn't the best. 

He had a younger brother, who had turned out to be a complete dick and his parents just stopped caring. These kids became his family and having Max gone left a clear gap.

Everyone thought it was just easier to think she died. Just gone. 

But she wasn't.

~ 

The night of the crash, Max boarded a plane heading from Turkey to Pakistan. There were 18 others and she could tell the pilot wasn't terribly enthusiastic about this long flight. 

She had never really been able to sleep on planes, so she decided to write a letter to Lucas and maybe a few others back in Hawkins.

She couldn't tell exactly when it was that the pilot fell asleep. He had obviously been drinking and the co-pilot didn't really know what was going on. She was signing her name at the bottom of a letter to El. 

An alarm started going off in the plane, and as she looked out the window, the ground was coming closer. 

Another boy on her flight, Jack got up and ran towards the pilot dock. Max and a guy named Alex followed wanting to know what was going on. 

"He shut off the tracker!" Jack said frantic, "The radar scanner isn't even showing where we are."

"That means if we crash no one will find us," Max said. She walked up and helped pull the pilot out of his chair. She put on the headset and grabbed the wheel. A boy named 

Alex taking control of co-pilot and Jack screwed around with controls on the dash. 

They were all young, everyone on the flight under 23. None of them were trained to fly commercial planes, only fighter planes. This was only a meer month before some of them would be able to return home, including Max.

They steered as much as they could but it wasn't enough. 

The plane crashed into the edge of a forest. The engine carried on sputtering until it caught on fire as the plane continued to move. Everyone in the passenger compartment  
was killed upon impact. 

Jack was never strapped in so he flew forward crashing into the windshield and flying back. Alex banged his head hard on the dashboard and remind unconscious. 

Max had covered her head as best as possible whilst trying to land them cautiously. Once the plane stopped moving her wrist slammed into the dash and you could hear it snap from a mile away. She was the only person able to speak on the flight, so she did what any person would.

She screamed. 

~

Day by day things became a little worse, and a little better. Worse, because he was still without the love of his life.

Better, because he was still making it through the day. 

The week. 

The month.

The year. 

Yeah, it had been a year since she was gone. He spent that entire week cut off from everyone. He didn't think he needed their sympathy. She was gone and feeling sorry for him wasn't going to help. 

Lucas knew plenty of girls at their college would interested in him, but none of them were Max. She was all he wanted. So he laid low at school, only speaking when necessary. And family gatherings were the worst. He had to try and explain what had happened to his "little girlfriend" without crying. 

But the worst was when Billy showed up to his dorm.

He pounded on the door until Lucas barely opened it. 

"Sinclair, is my bitch of a sister here, my dad wants to speak with her," Billy said.

Lucas stood there silent with his jaw dropped. Her family really didn't even care enough to know her whereabouts. Then again Max had only written him and Steve as her contacts.

"No. She's not here." and with that Lucas slammed the door in his face. 

~

After running to find help that night, Max had stumbled upon a small village of native people. She had no clue where she was and these people obviously couldn't understand her. Max pointed to her wrist, and a woman grabbed it making Max wince. 

Through a detailed game of charades, they were able to communicate her wrist was broken because of the plane crash. It was pretty clear everyone on the plane had passed except for her, but she wanted to send others to look.

She spent a year and 288 days with an older woman named Sihi and her husband Guka who happened to be a doctor. They cared for her better than her own parents ever did.

The village was small and they lived in huts, but Max was grateful for their open arms. Her wrist healed and she knew she needed to return home to Hawkins.

Their language was very difficult and Max barely picked up a few words but had enough to explain where she was going. Besides, her duffle had enough money to get a plane ticket.

That was the first time Max had ever thought about it. Everyone probably assumed she was dead. 

The plane had never been found and she was the only one to escape. And that hurt.

~

Prior to 1991, Lucas had been forced to attend a New year's eve party. 

He didn't see the point, it was just going to be like any other year. Just as shitty. 

There was lots of drunk, sloppy kissing around him and nowhere to go without seeing something he wasn't supposed too. 

He rummaged through the fridge and found an unopened can of Pepsi. Dustin was chatting up some chic and Will was making out with his boyfriend in another room.

When midnight came, a tipsy girl with big hair and little clothing went in to place a kiss on his lips. He dodged her and walked out the front door, getting in his car and driving away.

Lucas and Max were each other's first kiss. It was back at the snowball in '84. Lucas had been terrified to ask her to dance, but she ended up being the one to kiss him. He could remember Time After Time playing, and then Every Breath you Take. Which was pretty ironic considering his nickname stalker, she had given to him. 

It was one of the best nights of his life. Following that the 2 would always go homecomings, proms, winter formals, and Valentine's day dances together. In 1986, sophomore year, he saved up to send her one of those flower-o-grams. El had told him that when she got it in class, Max turned the shade of her hair. 

That was one of the best things about her. He could always make her turned that bright red shade. From a kiss in the hallway to grabbing her hand under the table at lunch. 

She lit up like a firework.  
~

Max boarded a train heading somewhere. She needed to get to a map of some sort and figure out where in hell she was. The only good out of this situation was that she got to see a ton of new places. The scenery in Hawkins was a bit drab, so it was nice to get to experience the world. 

That was another one of the reasons she joined. Getting out of the middle of nowhere for some real exploration was just one of the perks. 

But this wasn't exactly what she was looking for, to say the least. She craved exploration with her friends, her true family. 

So she kept on the train and got off at the first station. 

The map in the terminal wasn't in English, but Max knew it well enough to see she was now in India. 

There had to be someone here who spoke English. Right?


	3. back for you

Danica Sinclair was noticing a change in Lucas as well. Being his mother and all, she could always read her son. 

The first time she met Maxine, the little girl had snuck in her son's window on a frosty December night. 

She knew her older brother was angry and liked to push her around, but nothing like this.

Mrs.Sinclair could see that the light of the lamp was on in Lucas' room right around 11:00. The house was supposed to be in bed, so she just assumed he was up playing games. 

She quietly opened the door to scold her son, before seeing the red-headed girl crying into his chest.

Lucas was quick to respond, but Danica shushed him upon seeing Max's bloody, bruised face.

"Hi mom," Lucas said cautiously, not letting go of Max, "it's not what it looks like, I swear it was just."

"No this is my fault. I'm sorry, I should just go."

"Sweetheart, you're fine. I just want to know what happened." She crouched down next to Max, who wiped her face on her sleeve, "Also Lucas, it would be great to meet this young lady."

"You haven't..." Max said raising her eyebrows.

"This is Max, my uh, friend from school."

"well nice to meet you, Max."

"You too. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here. My brother just got mad, I can go now." Max stood up to leave out the window again.  
"I don't mind if you stay the night. Why don't you go to the bathroom and clean up and you can stay in the guest room? "

"You really don't have too."

"No, I insist."

"Oh thanks"

"Also you can use the front door next time." She said winking.

"Got it," Max said trying to hide her awkwardness and slipping into the hallway quietly.

She can remember prying out of Lucas, that he really liked Max, which was clear. And seeing them curled up together in the guest room the next morning. She let it slide, but only that one time.

The kids were young and it seemed like puppy love.

She wished it was still puppy love, seeing her son so heartbroken was terrible and she loved Max like a 2nd daughter. 

It was hard losing her, knowing she was really gone.

~

To say the least it had been a really shitty week for Lucas. He was becoming to hate his new job as he worked side by side with a bubbly green-eyed, red-head. 

Yes, her personality was nothing like Max, but it was not enjoyable.

He decided it was time. He needed to get out of here. Friday night, he was going to leave, probably head north or somewhere. 

Even though his dream was to go to California, that was his dream with her.

Everyone kept telling him he needed to move on and that made it worse. So leaving was his best option. 

After work, he would pack up his stuff in his truck and just start driving.  
Driving cleared his mind.

And all he needed was to clear his god damned mind.

~

Finding an airport in India was simple, buying a real ticket was not.

But upon finding true tickets, they were fairly cheap. Yes, it might not have been the safest thing. But it was worth it. 

Love is dangerous anyways.

It's also dangerous that your lover could think you're dead.

Scratch that. It's very dangerous because Lucas certainly did think she was dead.

She was supposed to be back almost 2 years ago. He could have moved on to someone new. 

He could have moved away from Indiana. 

There were so many situations where she could return to Indiana and he's just gone.

But that didn't stop her from boarding the plane.

~  
Nancy woke up in the middle of that Thursday night and felt it. She rushed into the bathroom and her water broke.

Jonathan started the car and began to put their things in. Nancy was trying to breathe, but it was difficult.

This was their 2nd child. Barbara was asleep in the next room. 

They had named their little girl after Nancy's friend who she lost in high school. Only a few months after her birth, Nancy became pregnant again.

Regardless of gender, they had a name picked out and hoped it would raise everyone's spirits.

After 2 rings, El picked up the phone that night, and Nancy explained she needed someone to watch Barbara.

23 minutes later El and Mike were in the car heading to the Byers residency.

2 minutes later Jonathan and Nancy were heading to the hospital.

9 minutes after that Max landed in Houston, Texas.

~

Rental cars were not cheap. Taxies also were not cheap. Max didn't bring a shit ton of cash with her. It wasn't supposed to be needed. 

She could only afford to rent a little compact car. It was silver, beat up, and smelled of liquor. 

Nothing like her truck, which she had left at her mother's house in Hawkins.

She bought that glorious truck with her savings when she turned 16. It was a little 4x4, shiny red. 

Steve had agreed to give her driving lessons every Tuesday & Thursday, so she wouldn't have to take a driver education class. 

Usually, she would trick him into stopping for ice cream afterward, but it was better than going home for both of them.

15 stupid hours in a car would be worth it and then she could have the thought of seeing him again. 

It was summertime and the weather was hotter than usual this year. 

Houston came in at a whopping 103. 

Windows down and pair of sunglasses she found on the sidewalk on, Max was ready to be home.

~

Friday 4:30 p.m. Lucas sat in a black office chair, chewing on the end of a pen. Something about today just felt weird. He had this burning sensation in the pit of his stomach and he felt achy.

Driving long distance would suck, to say the least, but it was gonna worth it.

Suddenly his phone rang. It was Will.

Will was probably one of Lucas' favorite people. When he went missing in '83, that was all he cared about. 

Not being nice to this El girl or thinking about some weird Upside Down lab, it was just finding Will.

He was always the smallest of the group until junior year when he really shot up. 6'4 that was.

And Lucas was the first person he came out too. They were 15. Everyone assumed it was going to be Jonathan, but Will didn't want to worry his brother with anymore. 

They were at the arcade one day, just the 2 of them. 

El was at the doctor for the flu, Max was visiting her dad in Cali, Dustin was on vacation, and Mike had gotten grounded for sneaking over to the Byers-Hopper household.

Will had gone to the bathroom and came out all shaky and weird. He told Lucas he was ready to leave, and he didn't question it. 

So they hopped on their bikes and headed somewhere. Will was in the lead and Lucas just decided to follow.

It was safer than saying something.

But when they arrived at Castle Byers, he knew something was up.

Will hopped off his bike and went inside, bursting into tears. Lucas followed quickly asking if something had happened at the arcade. Will told him some guys in the bathroom called him a f*g, but that they weren't wrong. Lucas pulled him into a hug as Will continued to freak out.

They stayed for around 3 hours. Just talking it over. Knowing Will was going to be just fine.

~

Lucas picked up the phone on the fourth ring.

"Hey Lucas!"

"Will, whats up?"

"Nancy had the baby!"

"That's great, you're an uncle for the 2nd time."

Will chuckled across the line.

"So is it a boy or girl?"

"They had another girl! I can't wait for you to hear the name!"

"Well... are you going to tell me?"

"You have to come meet her for yourself. Stop by after work or something?"

"I'll see about that."

"Seriously Lucas, I think this is really gonna make you smile."

"If you say so."

"Anyways I gotta go! Mike and El made me watch Barb."

"Alright bye Will."

"See ya Luke."

"See ya."

He hung up the phone and seriously considered going to meet the baby. He knew she was going to be adorable, probably named something also adorable, and everyone would be happy. 

Then someday Mike and El would have a few darling kids of their own and someday Will would adopt, and Dustin would find a lover and they would have kids.

It was going to make him more angry than happy. And that made him a shitty person. 

So he had to leave.

So driving was better because everyone loves road rage right?

~

Max pulled the rental car into her old house driveway. 

She had managed a 15 hours trip in 12 hours. She made 3 stops, only for gas or to use the bathroom.

Spending as little time in this car as possible was very ideal, and to her surprise, it got really good gas mileage. 

She grabbed her duffle bag and started towards the house.

The plan was just to go in get her keys and drive her truck down to Indiana U. It didn't appear anyone was home, so she would just run in and use the bathroom. Grab something to eat. Maybe change clothes, pick up some more.

That's when it hit her.

She hadn't seen them in 3 years.

Billy could be.. less of a dick?

Dustin could have a girlfriend. 

Will could have a boyfriend. 

Mike and El could have a kid or one on the way. 

Nancy and Jonathan had a baby by now, she was pregnant the last time Max saw her. They were so far in college and would be graduating soon.

She walked into the house, which was obviously empty and looked down at her outfit. Her boots were messily tied, she felt her feet burning alive down there. She had on her camo pants and a white tank top. Her frizzy, red hair fell slightly below her shoulders.

It was a look, but she had never cared about physical appearance before. So why start now?

Her room was the same as it was when she left. 

Somehow untouched? Max started to grab a suitcase and some clothes, but it was all too much at that moment.

She ran out the front door and jumped in her car. 

It was like everything clicked.

She might actually get to see him.

~

Work got ended at 5:30 and Lucas was now sitting in his living room. You can't take furniture in a compact car, so that was staying. 

He wanted to start packing up, but something told him he needed to sit here and do nothing.

Maybe order some Chinese food and take a nap than hit the road.

This doing nothing was obviously his stomach talking, so he decided to head to out and grab some egg rolls.

Food is always the answer, right?

~

Max drove 28 miles over the speed limit that night. 

Now on a normal day, she was a safe driver, but the sooner the better was the only thing that mattered right now.

On a normal day, she would rather be sleeping. 

She's running off of 5 hours right now. She's been awake for 26 hours straight.

On a normal day, she would be starving, as she had last eaten on the plane. And that was only a can of tomato juice with a packet of peanuts. She turned down the rest of the meals.

Somehow she looked pretty close too normal. Max had never been good at the whole getting good sleep thing.

Their house was much too loud for that towards the end of living in Cali, her parents were fighting so much that Max just wanted to run away. She would only ever sneak out to the beach at night.  
Sit in the sand and have the cold, crisp waves crash against her shins and leave the bottoms her pants damp. It was nice being out on the water. Calm, soothing.

The divorce was dirty, especially since her mom was newly pregnant. Max was so excited to have a baby sibling. 

To be a big sister that was. 

She was girlier at that time, as she still enjoyed her mother's company and wanted her approval.

But her mom snuck out one night and went to the clinic. Neither Max or her dad had a say in the matter. Max just wished she had a heads up. 

And when she returned 3 days later, there was lots of noise.

Max locked herself in her room for as long as it took for services to find her. 

It never seemed like she was in danger, she was only in there for 8 hours. Her parents screaming in the background, crashing and breaking items of the household.

Somehow her mother got custody in the end and that killed her father. 

He was never too much of a drinker before, but now it was his only escape from the pain caused by losing his daughters.

Yes, the baby was going to be a girl, and Max was never allowed to see him again.

~

Suddenly she found herself sitting in a parked car, head in hands.

A parked car, in a parking lot.

A parked car, in a parking lot, of a college.

A parked car, in a parking lot, of a college, which was Indiana U.

A parked car, in a parking lot, of a college, which was Indiana U, where she was about to maybe, just maybe, see the love of her life for the first time in 3 years.

The love of her life who she left.

Who thinks she is dead.

What if he was mad? She knew both of them had short tempers and he could freak out on her for not calling or something.

Letting him know she was okay.

Maxine Mayfield, a person who they probably pronounced dead.

If Maxine Mayfield was dead, she was dead enough to step out of that truck.

~

Lucas carried the mass amount of take out into his dorm.

He kept his head down in the parking lot, in the lobby, in the elevator, in the hallway, and everywhere else. Keeping your head down was a physical demonstration of giving up, which he did.

He had zoned out when ordering and got just about one of everything. $36.03 as a total. He laid it on the countertop and decided if he was going to leave he needed to start packing, just eat later.

Shoving clothing into duffel bags and backpacks was about as efficient as he needed to be. Old Lucas was organized and probably folded and cleaned things more than he should have.

His closet was just about cleared out when he saw a shoebox. 

This goddamned shoebox held shit he never wanted to touch ever again. He took the lid off and sat down on his bed, facing the window.

The first thing he pulled out was his wrist rocket. Used for Demogorgon slaying and saving damsels in distress. 

Or badass redheaded chicks he wanted to try and protect.

2nd was a few old pictures from high school, middle school, and with family.

And then there it was. The ring... he didn't know what to do with it anymore. Selling it felt wrong, even though he could use the money.

When he touched it all other sounds went away,

even the banging on his apartment door.

~

Max still had the piece of paper telling her what apartment he was in, just for the times she was supposed to write.

She stood outside the door. First knocked slightly. She could see the lights on from below the door, as well as smell some sort of food.

Chinese take out sounded right since he always loved egg rolls.

She knocked lightly again, biting her tongue. She could yell, but that wasn't what she wanted him to hear as the first thing out of her mouth. 

It had to be something good. In the moment.

So she resolved to bang on the door, other kids passing in the hallway giving her strange looks.

This obviously wasn't working and she didn't come home for nothing.

There was a welcome map sitting ajar by the door. It had obviously barely been touched in years. 

The little voice in her head said this couldn't be Luke's dorm if the welcome mat didn't look broken in.

She flipped it over and sure enough there was a key.

Slipping it into the doorknob, she was in.

And it was terrifying.

~  
Lucas sat their in silence for a few good minutes. He shut the box and placed it on the nightstand.

"It's like I'm holding a little curse! I never should have jumped the gun and bought the damn thing. She's never worn a piece of jewelry in her life and I bought this. What if she said no?" He threw his head in his hands.

"Actually, when I was six, my dad bought me a candy bracelet. If that counts?" Max said standing in the doorway.

"Sure we'll count that...The last thing I need is the voices!"

"The voices? I can do lots of voices. My Australian accent, mate. Or Steve impression! That was pretty spot on the last time I did it if you wanna hear that one." Max continued to stand in the doorway.

"Good god Steve Harrington?. Maybe I do need to eat, I am going crazy." with that he stood up and turned around.

That's when the whole world changed.

"Hey." She choked out before running into his arms. She wrapped them tightly around his neck and he grabbed her waist. They both burst into tears, embracing each other with tight grips.

Lucas wanted to say something, but he was a bigger mess than Max.

"Luke, it's okay. I'm here." She whispered.

~

A solid hour or so went by before he actually got a word out, or let Max out of his grip.

They sat down on his bed, Lucas wiped his face on his sleeve. All he could manage to get out was...

"How?"

"Well, that's a pretty long story."

"I've got all the time in the world." He grabbed her hand and intertwined it with his.

"Okay, but uh, I haven't eaten in like.. 18-ish hours."

"Max, what why? Oh my goodness of course."

"I was flying! and then driving." Max took a deep breath, "I needed to be here."

"You kind of caught me at the best moment, I guess. I was about to pack up and drive away to the frigid tundra."

"Care to explain why?" She said with worried eyes.

"I needed to get out of here. Get rid of the noise. Everyone was just too happy. I don't know how they could move on. I never thought you were actually out there. I'm definitely not Mike, I didn't call you every night. I waited at the airport that day and when you didn't come back, I said to myself. She's gone."

"I'm so sorry. Luke, I should have found a way to call or something."

"No, no this is nowhere near your fault. I'm just so glad you're alive and back here."

"Me too." 

She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss, fixing both of their lips better than any chapstick ever would. 

~

The 2 spent the rest of the night eating reheated Chinese food, sitting on the itchy grey couch.

Lucas thought it must have been fate that he mentally blanked out when ordering since Max could eat a literal cow. 

Max would have gone out to the car to grab her duffle bag to get whatever crap she managed to shove in there, but instead, she stole one of Luke's t-shirt. 

It was from high school, basketball team to be exact. He tried out for the first time in freshman year and made varsity. 

Yeah, he was that good, a hidden talent nobody thought the AV kid could have. 

She told him all about the plane crash and how she was lucky, 

how she got lucky. 

And she laid there in his arms,

in the hot dorm,

take out food scattering the room, 

on an itchy, scratchy couch, 

but it was perfect.

they fell asleep like that and it felt 

amazing.


End file.
